Fully autonomous Uber cars are being tested in Pittsburgh and Arizona. Street-based “people pods” are running in London. Every major vehicle manufacturer seems to be moving quickly to introduce their version of autonomous control.
On January 11, 2017, DigitalTrends.com featured an article on the introduction of the Arma public transportation system in Las Vegas, which uses autonomous vehicles (AVs) to move passengers around town. At the presentation, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was quoted about her first impressions of the new system: “Being the control freak that I am, I was very nervous to get on this vehicle, but it is clean, has beautiful air and moves sort of swiftly but so beautifully,” she said.
From a car wash operator’s perspective, the operative word in that quote is “clean.” Companies supplying AVs to municipalities will want their vehicles to be clean. The appearance of their fleet will be part of their brand promise, and that reality represents both challenges and opportunities for the car wash community.
Handling Emerging Technology Today
Talking about the future of autonomous cars is interesting, but car wash operators are experiencing very real technology challenges today that need to be addressed. ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) systems, transmission interlocks and other safety-related technologies are interfering with vehicle travel through wash tunnels.
To better define the exact issues being experienced, and to develop a workable solution with vehicle manufacturers, International Carwash Association hired Schwartz Advisors, a team of auto aftermarket experts, to survey ICA members and produce a plan of action.
In November and December 2016, 245 ICA members representing over 500 car wash locations returned the survey and reported the following statistics:
• 78.9 percent reported damage to automatic wipers due to operation during the wash cycle.
• 61.2 percent reported problems with transmissions not allowing vehicles to roll through the wash system in neutral.
• 39.2 percent reported issues with stop/start systems applying during the wash cycle.
• 37.8 percent reported collision avoidance systems applying during the wash cycle.
• 37.8 percent reported vehicles with keyless entry systems being locked by contact with brushes.
• As the take rate of ADAS and other new technologies increases, the problems being experienced by car wash operators is growing exponentially. Wash operators who are reporting a problem with 20 percent of the vehicles running through their systems today are concerned that the interruption percentage could double or triple in the near future as these technologies are installed in a broader range of vehicle types.
• A high percentage of vehicle owners do not understand how to deactivate their ADAS and transmission auto-park systems, and it is very common for people to forget to turn off their automatic wipers before exiting their vehicle in fully automatic wash systems.
• Even drivers who know their deactivation routines report anxiety in deactivating systems as they sit in a line of vehicles entering a car wash. Simplicity of deactivation, therefore, is an important issue.
• Vehicle manufacturers have used many different deactivation methods making it very difficult to educate wash operators and their employees on how to inform their customers to prepare their vehicles for a wash. Owners’ manuals are often confusing for vehicle owners to follow.
• Many car wash operations are resorting to placing their employees in customers’ vehicles to ride through the wash as the vehicle is left running in neutral. This requires additional employees and results in higher costs and lower margins for wash owners.
The three-pronged action plan
Schwartz Advisors is now using this information and other content gained through follow-up conversations with car wash operators to build a plan of action calling for three solutions.
Solution 1
ICA Education Portal
Schwartz Advisors is contacting vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers of ADAS technology to solicit participation in an online education portal that car wash operators can use to learn about the deactivation procedures for various technologies on a vehicle year, make and model basis. While the goal is to have the vehicle manufacturers voluntarily update the website’s content, Schwartz Advisors is also exploring other avenues to gather owner’s manual information and keep it updated on the site.
Solution 2
Common Car Wash Button
Schwartz Advisors is recommending the formation of a single button that would deactivate all safety technology for a period of time allowing a vehicle to move through a car wash smoothly. All of the technology would reactivate at the end of the set time period.
Solution 3
Telematics Recognition
The increase of vehicle connectivity makes a telematics solution the ultimate answer to our technology challenges. Vehicles would include sensors that tell the car it is in a car wash and that it should deactivate its safety technology. A timer system would assure the reactivation of all systems to eliminate any liability for car wash operators.
Driving Consensus
Changes of this nature will not come easily, but Schwartz Advisors has sufficient reach in the automotive community to effectively communicate our desires and drive consensus in the industry. It is in everyone’s best interest to develop a more efficient solution to these technology challenges.
Derek Kaufman is a managing partner at Schwartz Advisors, a team of auto aftermarket experts.
